Westerleigh Cemetery & Crematorium is marking World Alzheimer’s Month by pledging to make a donation to Dementia UK, the specialist dementia nursing charity, for every memorial purchase made over a six-week period.

Between Monday 4 September and Sunday 15 October, anyone buying a memorial will also be helping to make a difference to families facing dementia in addition to remembering their loved ones.

Westerleigh Cemetery & Crematorium is part of Westerleigh Group, one of the UK’s largest independent owners and operators of cemeteries and crematoria, with 39 sites in England, Scotland, and Wales, all set within beautifully landscaped gardens of remembrance which provide pleasant, peaceful places for people to visit and reflect.

Earlier this year, Westerleigh Group chose Dementia UK as its corporate charity partner with the aim of raising a minimum of £120,000 to support its vital work.

One in two people will be affected by dementia in their lifetime, either by caring for someone with the condition, developing it themselves, or both. There are over 200 different types of dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease being one of the most common forms.

This means Dementia UK needs to increase the number of dementia specialist Admiral Nurses, who are continually supported and developed by the charity, to provide life-changing advice and support to anyone affected by dementia, whenever it’s needed.

They work on the free national Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline, in face-to-face and virtual clinics, and in the community, in GP practices, hospitals, and care homes.

Anyone who makes a memorial purchase between 4 September and 15 October will trigger a donation from Westerleigh Group to Dementia UK – at no cost to themselves at all.

The money will be donated from the crematorium’s metal recycling scheme.

With the consent of families, metals recovered during cremation are recycled, and any money raised is used to support charities and other worthy causes which make a positive difference to people’s lives.

For memorial purchases up to the value of £500, a £50 donation will be made. For purchases between £500.01 and £1,500, a £100 donation will be made and for purchases of £1,500.01 and above, a £200 donation will be made.

Westerleigh Cemetery & Crematorium Manager Shaun Chapman-Young said: “A £50 donation could cover the telephone costs of 17 family carers calling Dementia UK’s free, national helpline for support.

“We’re proud of our commitment to providing exceptional care to the bereaved and their loved ones but our care goes much further than that; we also care deeply about the wider communities that surround all our crematoria and dementia is something that affects families all over the UK.

“We have such a wide range of memorialisation options available to our families, from interment and on-site options to memorial jewellery and even having ashes scattered in space.

“We support families to make memorials as uniquely personal to the individual being honoured as possible. Families do not need to have held a service in our crematorium in order to arrange a memorial through us.

“And, for the period between 4 September and 15 October, they have the added benefit of knowing that their memorial purchase will also result in further funds being donated to support the vital work being carried out by Dementia UK, but at no extra cost to themselves.”

Martin Bishop, Director of Fundraising and Engagement at Dementia UK, said: “We are so grateful to Westerleigh Group for making this donation pledge for World Alzheimer’s Month.

“Every three minutes, someone in the UK develops dementia which is a progressive and complex condition that can be devastating for the whole family.

“It can be exhausting and overwhelming, not only for the person with dementia, but also for the people caring for them, and their wider family and friends.

“Through the money raised, more families than ever will be able to access the life-changing support offered by our Admiral Nurses and Admiral Nurse Dementia Helpline.”

Anyone who wants to find out more about Westerleigh Cemetery & Crematorium and the terms and conditions of its pledge for Dementia UK should visit: www.westerleighcrem.co.uk/pledgefordementiauk